SALEM, Va. - Christopher Newport University lost for the first time in the 2021-2022 men's basketball season Friday night, dropping a hard-fought 86-83 decision to third-ranked Marietta College of Ohio The game was the second of the night played in the opening round of the Dick Leftwich Tipoff Tournament...and was played at the Cregger Center on the campus of Roanoke College. The Captains will now play Eastern in the third-place game Saturday at 1:00 p.m. followed by Marietta and Roanoke in the championship at 3:00 p.m.

The Captains and Pioneers staged an entertaining early-season battle, with the game tied at six different points and the lead changing hands ten times. John Krikorian's squad, now 2-1, went up by as many as 12 in the opening half, 36-24, before a 9-1 run by Marietta cut the lead to four at the half, 37-33. The teams continued to exchange punches through the second half, and the Captains found themselves holding a 74-69 advantage with six minutes to play. The Pioneers, who were playing for the first time this season, then took control down the stretch, out-scoring the Captains, 17-9, to pull out the victory.

Christopher Newport trailed by three with just 9.5 seconds left on the clock, but freshman Ty Henderson's three-point attempt to tie in the waning seconds was off the mark, and as the rebound was tipped back out to Henderson, his last-second heave was deflected to end the game.

"I think their experience certainly played a big part in tonight's game," Head Coach John Krikorian said. "We executed our game plan perfectly through the first half and were in a good spot before we committed some turnovers late in the half. Their experience and talent level really showed in the second half. This was a really exciting college basketball game, and I think our team is going to be better having been challenged like that."

Sophomore Jahn Hines led the Captains attack, scoring 18 points on seven-for-12 shooting. Senior Matt Brodie added 13 and sophomore Trey Barber reached double figures with ten points, and also posted a team-high eight rebounds. Both teams shot just under the 50 percent mark from the field for the night, and CNU was out-rebounded by the Pioneers, 37-34.

Marietta, who started four seniors and a junior, was led by senior Jason Ellis' 18 points, followed by senior Lukas Isaly's 16, all in the second half, and sophomore Jac Alexander's 16. Alexander scored the final six points of the night for the Pioneers, with a field goal with 1:20 to play and two made free throws with 46 seconds left and two more with 9.5 seconds remaining to end the scoring. The Pioneers were 21 of 27 at the foul stripe for the night for 78 percent shooting.

Christopher Newport had won its first two games of the new season with home victories last weekend at the Freeman Center over Washington College (Md.) and 14th-ranked Johns Hopkins. Host school Roanoke, ranked 20th in the country, defeated Eastern in the first game played Friday night, 85-58. The Captains and Eastern will be playing for the first time ever when they meet Saturday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. in the third-place game.